Clermont-ferrand Travel Guide, France

Clermont-Ferrand- Travel Guide Clermont-Ferrand- About the City

Clermont-Ferrand is a city and administrative center in the Auvergne region of France, being situated 149 kilometers east of Limoges and 87 miles from Lyon. It is an agricultural and rubber manufacturing center (the largest in France), and the city also has about two dozens mineral water springs, making Clermont-Ferrand one of the country`s largest suppliers of bottled mineral water.

Geographically speaking, Clermont-Ferrand lies at the northern tip of the Massif Central. This location is famous for the Chaîne des Puys, a chain of volcanoes, hosting the major International short film festival and for the fact that Michelin, the famous tire company, was founded in Clermont-Ferrand more than 100 years ago.

Clermont-Ferrand-Attractions

The age of this city is shown in its unique display of architecture. Clermont-Ferrand is particularly famous for two churches: first, “Notre-Dame du Port”: a Romanesque church which was built during the 11 and 12th centuries; this church is part of UNESCO`s World Heritage Site. The youngest church, “Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Clermont-Ferrand”, is built in gothic style and it was built between 13th and 19th centuries. The church was constructed using volcanic rock, which gives the characteristic black color and makes it highly distinctive. Its twin spires are 96.2 meters tall, imposing dominance over the other buildings in the city.

If you like tall sights, “Puy de Dome” is the place to go, with small volcanic mountains lying around this larger one. Take a hike to the peak of the mountain, and you will find a Roman ruin, The Temple of Mercury, and a monument to Eugene Renaux, a pioneer, airplane pilot who flew on the volcano in 1911. In addition, “Le jardin Le Coq” is worth seeing, because it incorporates exotic and interesting plants and trees and an unidentified ruin.

Clermont-Ferrand-A Modern City

As you have just read in our Clermont-Ferrand travel guide, this is a city that dwells in history, but this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have plenty of entertainment possibilities. If you are into to shopping, on “Rue Desgras”, right across the grand cathedral of Notre-Dame, you will find everything, from books to toys, cheese and wine. There are also plenty of clubs, exquisite restaurants and funky bars.

Read our members' reviews about Clermont-ferrand

Cathedral Notre Dametravel tip by erato posted more then 30 days agoThe Gothic style Cathedral is the main attraction of the city. It would be really hard to miss it because it's huge. It was built from volcanic rock, just like all the other old buildings in the city, so it is totally black. If you...